Here’s what people have been saying about BrainPOP ESL:

I have Non-English Proficient learners and they LOVE brainpopesl. It starts them off with simple questions and statements commonly heard and used in the English language–ex. “How are you?” “Where are you?” “He is going to get there.” The kids (and me) like it because it’s entertaining, it’s simple and repetitive, and it has A LOT of different modes to learn the same information (which is great because kids can pick and choose which activities they enjoy and learn best from). I can always hear my little Vietnamese 4th grade student repeating the words in a strong voice on the “Hear It Say It.” She particularly likes this choice. I like the “Facts to Know” because it isolates a category of words (like pronouns), and then the words in a sentence, for context. The flashcards are great too for self checking. As the kids get progressively more proficient with the English language, they move on through the levels and build on their knowledge.

Mara Barandiaran, ESOL Teacher

Minor Elementary School, Gwinnett, GA

We love getting feedback. If you haven’t already done so, please check out brainpopesl.com and let us know what you and your students think of the site!

Wednesday, November 11, 2009
4:00 pm EDT
Duration: 1 hour
Learn tips for how to make the most out of BrainPOP’s online animated movies and interactive features. Best-practices for how to engage students and easily incorporate BrainPOP into you curriculum will be shared, as well as suggestions for effective planning. We’ll also talk about the tools and features you’ll find on BrainPOP Educators.

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The continuing saga of Ben and Moby resumes as brainpopesl.com presents lesson 5.3. In this lesson it seems that Ben’s memory has lapsed as he reminisces about his and Moby’s childhood together. Moby sets Ben’s memory straight, as our English learners get to know the verb “be” in the past simple tense.

Watch and enjoy - and let us know what you and your students think by emailing us or posting comments below!

Spotlight: Hispanic Heritage
History, Cultures, and Leaders

With topics from Christopher Columbus, Cesar Chavez, and Frida Kahlo to the Conquistadors, Maya Civilization, and the Mexican Revolution, BrainPOP’s Spotlight: Hispanic Heritage is the perfect resource for Hispanic Heritage Month, which winds down October 15th. BrainPOP Jr. topics include Mexico and Columbus Day. Share your creative Hispanic Heritage lesson plans on BrainPOP Educators!

Spotlight: Paleontology & Anthropology

This month’s Spotlight: Paleontology & Anthropology covers such topics as carbon dating, Charles Darwin, extinction, human evolution, geologic time, Jane Goodall, fossils (K-3) and much more. Check out the BrainPOP Educators dinosaur-themed graphic organizer!

I imagine that most of you have been spending lots of time building your classroom community and establishing routines. I wanted to share some tips for introducing BrainPOP to your students and weaving BrainPOP into classroom routines — the kind of stuff I kick myself for not thinking of when I was in the classroom! I’d love to hear if you’ve got any tips to share. I’ll continue to add more suggestions throughout the rest of the month.

Ways to Get BrainPOP Up and Running in Your Classroom

• If you haven’t used computers as a class before, discuss the expectations for this new routine. How many computers are there in the classroom? How will students work on them? Will they work alone, in small groups, or in partners? Will they use headphones to listen to the movies, will they watch them on individual computers or will you watch as a whole class? Where will they print out their work?

• It’s always helpful to review how to use the Internet. We’ve got just the thing! Free all month, our Spotlight on Digital Citizenship will cover everything from Online Safety to Digital Etiquette, to Cyberbullying. For younger students check out BrainPOP Jr’s movie on Internet Safety.You may want to download BrainPOP’s Internet Safety Poster from the Just For Fun page on BrainPOP Educators to help facilitate this discussion. What are the rules and regulations in your classroom for computer work?

• As with all new tools in your classroom, your students will probably be excited and curious about all the components of BrainPOP and BrainPOP Jr. Be sure to give students time to explore the site on their own. This reduces their need to “surf” the site later on, and will familiarize them with the various features and overall interface. Guide their exploration with questions or challenges. Can they use the search feature to find movies on specific topics? What are the three options for the POPQuiz? What happens when they scroll over the words on BrainPOP Jr? Can they find the Big Word Wall? Have them report back to the group to share what they discovered.

Did you find these tips helpful? Got any to add? Please post comments!

Happy Labor Day! Don’t forget to RSVP for this Wednesday’s webinar:

Spotlight; Digital Citizenship

Wednesday, September 9, 2009
10:00 a.m. EDT
Duration: 45 minutes

The ways that students use technology are growing more and more interconnected through online communication tools and social networks. Learn how to take advantage of BrainPOP’s Digital Citizenship resources and help ensure that students’ online interactions are as safe as possible. We’ll help you kick off the school year with a Spotlight on the topic, featuring such topics as blogs, cyberbullying, digital etiquette, email and IM, social networking, and more.

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You can also visit our Webinars page to sign up for other free professional development opportunities in September.

Any other webinars you’d like to see us offer? What time of day works best for you? Post comments below to help us improve our offerings.

We had a great recommendation from a teacher that I wanted to share. She uses our See All, print-friendly lists of topics for BrainPOP and BrainPOP Jr. to easily integrate BrainPOP topics into the curriculum she’s already teaching. She prints the lists and keeps them in her planning notebook, so whether she’s at home or planning with her grade level team, she can quickly see what’s available.

I also wanted to share the idea of taking your scope & sequence for each subject area and aligning BrainPOP topics with each standard. You can easily add a “BrainPOP Topic” column into the existing document.

Any other tips to help educators get up and running for back to school time? Please share by posting comments below!

Hi everybody! This is Tim here. I just got back from my summer vacation, and I wanted to share some of the cool things Moby and I saw and learned during our travels around the United States with my family. My mom said it was going to be a long trip, so I brought plenty of books and games to keep from getting bored. If you saw my Twitter posts, you know that I also brought my cell phone : ) Little did I know that taking pictures, meeting new people, and learning about different places would keep me so busy!

Our first stopover was Akron, Ohio, nicknamed the Rubber Capital of the World. If you know me you know that I love baseball, and the Akron Aeros game was the first of four that we saw during the trip. We also met a kid my age who had won a huge trophy during the soapbox derby championships, which are an Akron tradition.

We next drove through Chicago and stopped to see a really beautiful Baha’i temple in Wilmette, Illinois. That night, we stayed in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Their funky-looking art museum, which was designed by a famous architect, was closed the next day, but we saw the Harley Davidson museum instead, which was pretty awesome. In one display you could see all the parts of a motorcycle, as if it had magically exploded into itty bitty pieces!

(more…)

Back by popular demand and just in time to kick off the school year, we’re offering our free webinar on Implementing BrainPOP Into Your School or District again! RSVP quickly - space is filling up.This is a great webinar for technology specialists and teachers who want to ensure their staff is aware of their subscription and able to get the most out of it. We’ve also got an exciting new webinar on Digital Citizenship slated for early September. Details below.

Implementing BrainPOP Into Your School or District
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
3:00 pm EDT
Duration: 1 hour

Learn how to make the most of your subscription to BrainPOP. We’ll help you get off to a running start by sharing new implementation tools for new subscribers including a Spread the Word Kit that will ensure all of your staff are aware of this resource. We’ll also provide you with all the training materials you need to ensure high participation from all of your staff. Get the lowdown on all of the free extra tips, tools, and resources on BrainPOP Educators.

RSVP - space fills up quickly!

Spotlight: Digital Citizenship
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
10 a.m. EDT
Duration: 45 minutes

The ways that students use technology are growing more and more interconnected through online communication tools and social networks. Learn how to take advantage of BrainPOP’s Digital Citizenship resources and help ensure that students’ online interactions are as safe as possible. We’ll help you kick off the school year with a Spotlight on the topic, featuring such topics as blogs, cyberbullying, digital etiquette, email and IM, social networking, and more.

RSVP - space fills up quickly!

The results are in! We had nearly 1000 participants who voted when we asked, What’s Your Favorite BrainPOP Animal Movie?  Dolphins took the lead, with Pandas and Penguins as the runners up. Thanks for participating!

What else would you like to see polls for? What kinds of activities could you tie this into for your students? Post comments below!